Part 12

Tamryn did what he was told, and waited, but it was some of the longest minutes of his life. Everything was too hard to digest. He had never really been out of the city for his entire life, and yet Gnarus was from a whole other UNIVERSE!

Shaking his head, Tamryn decided to shove his thoughts aside for now. Now, he needed to do what Gnarus said, and leave. Opening the door, Tamryn started to take off into the night with as much speed as he could muster.

He hadn't even gotten three blocks away when a voice called out from an alleyway, "Hey Tamryn!" Before he could even turn around to see who the voice was coming from there was a loud gunshot that shattered the silence of the night. As Tamryn finished turning, he saw Lucas' body crumple to the ground with a bullet hole in his head, nothing remaining in his eyes but the blank stare of death. Standing over Lucas was a man completely dressed in black: Black boots, black gloves, black cloak, black hood, everything. Very little of his face could be seen, but Tamryn could still see the murderous smile on his lips.

Rage; it filled Tamryn's body like a wildfire. Nothing else existed other then the man who had shot Lucas. There was no city, there were no thugs or criminals, there was nothing other than that man, and he was going to pay.

Burn, burn, he will burn.

Tamryn's vision went red with blood, and he dashed at the man with speed that easily matched any Olympic runner.

HE WILL BURN!

"Tamryn! NO!" Tamryn barely heard the voice that cried out somewhere behind him. All he knew was that the man who had killed Lucas was still standing, but that wouldn't last long.

BURN, BURN, BURN!!

The space between Tamryn and the cloaked man quickly closed. Five feet, two feet, FWAP! WHAM!! Before Tamryn knew what was happening the man flung out his cloak and in a flurry of quick motions and side-steps he easily dodged Tamryn and sent him hurling across the alleyway. As Tamryn hit the ground, he saw nothing but stars. Slipping in and out of consciousness he was helpless as a figure walked toward him. He didn't even realize who it was until he heard Gnarus' voice as he knelt beside Tamryn saying softly: "I'm sorry, Tamryn, I'm sorry." Gnarus got up and began to walk toward the hooded man. The next couple minutes were a blur as Tamryn struggled to stay conscious.

"….talented little firebug……singed my cloak…."

"You shouldn't be here, Terminus…….."

"……the Shadow…….world is ours……still a fool, Gnarus."

"…...I will have no choice but to kill you……"

"…..can't beat me, …….. Patronus isn't here…….."

"YOU WILL PAY!!!"

There was the clanging of metal on metal, and then Tamryn knew nothing but blackness as he finally succumbed to the sleep that his body demanded.

Smoke; that's the first thing Tamryn noticed as he slowly came back to the waking world. It was heavy in the air, Tamryn could smell it and his eyes stung from it. He slowly sat up, coughing all the way. That's when he remembered what happened. Everything surged back into his memory like a tidal wave, and his heart almost skipped a beat as he remembered Lucas and Gnarus. Where was Gnarus? Most of the building nearby had been put ablaze, yet there were no screams that Tamryn could hear. Maybe the people had gotten out.

Looking around, Tamryn could barely make out two still bodies lying about thirty feet away through the smoke. His eyes widened and his heart ached. Please don't let the second body be Gnarus, please god no. Despite the heavy smoke Tamryn ran over to the bodies and made it over within just a couple of heartbeats. He collapsed on his knees as he saw the bodies of his two closest friends lying on the ground. It was Gnarus, but he was still alive. Blood trickled out of his mouth and his breathing was horribly ragged, but he was alive. A stab wound easily eight inches wide went right through Gnarus' abdomen, while his blood formed a puddle beneath Gnarus' body, slowly trickling the life out of him.

Gnarus opened his eyes and looked up at Tamryn with sadness and regret. "Tamryn….I'm sorry….he's too strong. You can't beat him, Tamryn…..leave…..don't look back." Tears flowed from Tamryn's eyes stronger than any waterfall as he watched Gnarus try to hold on to life. His body shook as the tears made his vision go blurry. This couldn't be happening, this had to be a nightmare, how could this be happening?

"Tamryn….please….just leave….there's nothing…..you can do…..just leave….please!" With that, after one last defiant breath, trying to hold on to life, Gnarus' eyes glazed over with the same empty stare of death that Tamryn had seen in Lucas. No, this couldn't be real, it couldn't!

That's when Tamryn heard the laughter. Looking up, Tamryn saw the cloaked, hooded man standing at the very end of the alleyway at least sixty feet away. It was an evil laugh, a victorious laugh. The man then walked out of the alley, out of sight.

HE WILL BURN!! HE WILL BURN!!

Now all of Tamryn's memories hit Tamryn in a torrent of emotion. All the years he'd spent with Gnarus, everything he'd taught Tamryn, the day he'd met Lucas, and the years after that with his friendship. Complete and total rage then took over and wiped Tamryn of any other emotion. This time, it gave him focus, it gave him strength. Tamryn got up off the ground, and began to walk away from where Gnarus and Lucas lay, toward the man that had caused their deaths. Every step was cold and calculated, bringing Tamryn that much closer to his goal.

Burn, burn, burn, he will burn!

He reached the end of the alley, and turned in the direction that the man had walked. Before him stood over fifty men, armed with various weapons from pocket knifes to Sub-Machine Guns, and standing in front of them all with his arms crossed, stood the murderer himself. "You can not win Tamryn. There are too many of us. However, if you surrender now, we will make your death quick. If not, there are always other options that I guarantee we will enjoy much more than you." A chuckle ran through the men as gripped their weapons.

They will all burn!

"I will not surrender. You will pay." Tamryn didn't even recognize the voice that came out of him. It was far different from his normal one; it spoke of vengeance, and an indescribable cold, solid hatred.

"HA! Then you will die just like that fool, Gnarus." With that, the men cocked their guns, opened their knives, and prepared the rest of their weaponry as they started toward Tamryn with nothing but murder and impending victory in their eyes.

THEY WILL ALL BURN!!!

Tunnel vision suddenly afflicted Tamryn as he ran forward with every ounce of energy he could muster. Rage was all he knew, vengeance was all he knew.

BURN! BURN! BURN! THEY WILL ALL BURN!!

There was fire everywhere, it was all Tamryn could see, but he didn't care. Tamryn could hear screaming, but he didn't know where they were coming from, or even if one of them was from him. Shadows flitted in and out of his vision, but there was fire everywhere else. Energy pulsed through his body with the force of a sledgehammer, and he let it all out in pure, solid rage. Then darkness overtook him once again as he fell forward, somehow knowing that he was finished.